In a matter of a year, the parched and arid Ramanathapuram Lok Sabha constituency went from being rumoured to be contested by a head of state to one that is being contested by an independent candidate for the NDA. The BJP had briefly toyed with the idea of fielding PM Narendra Modi from here, but come voting day, it is isolated ex-chief minister O Panneerselvam (OPS) that the NDA cadre is busy pumping up.

Why PM skipped it?

According to sources, after floating the idea of the PM contesting from the constituency, that also contains the holy site of Rameswaram, to galvanise the party cadre and also send a message that fortress TN can be breached by saffron forces, the party did a ground reality check and decided that the grassroots was not strong enough to risk the PM’s image. Hence the idea was dismissed, with leaders explaining it away by saying it was just a wish expressed by the state cadre and that the party leadership never seriously considered it.